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IN TECHNOLOGY RETAIL MUST TRUST

IN TECHNOLOGY RETAIL MUST TRUST

Most of us read interesting books from time to time, my most recent being Machine, Platform and Crowd (MaCaffee & Brynjolfsson, 2017) which announced the second coming of the second age - the second machine age.

The first machine age was the much-maligned which at the time was pre the industrial revolution 'where the artisan was driven from his workshop, to make room for a speedier, inanimate one', according to Thomas Carlyle in 1829.

MaCaffee, et. al. captured a spirit that encapsulates a multitude of conversations I am having in retail at the moment. Bricks-and-Mortar Retail currently exists at a tipping point wanting the bright lights promised by a technology future instead held back after being burnt by experiences from the very recent past where they have been wounded.

The challenge is that retails technology attempts have left the sector licking very real wounds. Solutions have been deployed like a wave of messiah moments. 'We are saved by VR', 'The iPad has arrived, our future is secure'. All utter tosh of course. What should the Board now believe to move forward?

Retails tipping point is a challenge and it will take some guts to embrace a way forward. The good news is that the future, available now, is to connect silo solutions with one connected platform, the Stripe for retail. Foot counters talk data with fitting rooms and digital signage, payment talks to loyalty, loyalty talks to clienteling.

Platforms, such as those available from Scoop (www.scoopretail.com) enable the connection of peripherals to deliver the type of real-time dashboard for the store that we have enjoyed for some time online. Data on garments can demonstrate how many times an item has been tried on, how long the trying on took, how many items were bought, who bought them, how many visits to buy. A wealth of real-time data is available now to allow in-store control of the business for the first time.

The tools for the future are available now. Embrace or go juggle your pre-industrial bobbin?

RETAILS TIME TO CHOOSE OR LOSE

RETAILS TIME TO CHOOSE OR LOSE

If you are a retailer reading this, whether B2B or B2C, I honestly believe that now is the time to change your sales strategy across all of your channels. Why? Just look at what is happening right in front of you, right now.

The Google Curiosity Rooms is about to open in London. It is sold out pre-opening every single day of its 32-day run. Once again, let's ask why?

Well, it can't be about the phone. It's the Pixel 3, not the iPhone. It's certainly mainstream but not a phone that everybody must have, though it features are cool.

For me, it's the experience that is winning people over. Events are daily featuring unprovoked learning from a wide-ranging set of artistic and cultural backgrounds. For example, the PAQ boys are challenged to make everyday objects cool and turn this into a live fashion runway. Others include Chefs, Publishers, Feminists and mainstream DJ's.

The second point of reference, all of this is embedded in an interactive Pixel 3 environment spread across numerous floors. You are immersed, there is no sale, you just experience.

Compare this to Amazon's more traditional pop up in Baker Street two weeks ago and you only have one winner. Wake up retailers and smell, taste, feel, think, engage with the coffee.

LETS SCIENCE THE S*** OUT OF RETAIL

LETS SCIENCE THE S*** OUT OF RETAIL

There are a number of increasingly discussed gaps between retail and reality that are becoming more common at an alarming rate. The knowledge gap between technology, the internet and bricks and mortar stores is at the heart of these discussions. The occasional conversation is now frequent and tends to cover recurring questions and themes:

Why are stores the same as they were 20, 30, 40 years ago?

Why does Retailer X think an iPad is the correct technology in an ambiently busy store?

Why does retailer Y have the internet on its screen in-store?

If you are a retailer reading this and who does this please stop reading and contact me now. This really is curable. You should seek immediate advice. For others read on.

The questions are straightforward yet worrying too when you realise the massive importance of retail in the UK. As a sector retail is employing 1 out of every 9 UK workers and generating TO equivalent to 20% of the UK GDP equivalent to being the 6th largest retail economy of the planet (BIS 2012, 2013).

The worry only increases as we witness the failure of retail to respond to the multi-channel challenge delivered by the expansion of the internet from desktop to mobile. More challenges are yet to come as we see whole demographic cohorts who have been born and raised on the internet and mobile let loose into the commerce world with money of their own. Yes, the GenZers are coming which really means that those individuals 21 or younger now have disposable income.

My plan is to work together with a group of like-minded individuals at www.swarm.group. 'Like-minded people' means those who have a passion to disrupt in the right way. 'Individuals' are those who have the skillset to help retailers navigate the choppy waters of digital transformation. 'The work' will deliver a thoroughly researched review of retails components. In our words, we will science the s*** out of retail in an effort to deliver simple real-world applications based on bread research carried out by real people in the real world.

Our first microscopic review is the fitting room. We will science the s*** out of the fitting room and report back shortly. Let the games begin.

SELLING ROOM NOT FITTING ROOM?

SELLING ROOM NOT FITTING ROOM?

Rebekka Minkoff paved the way to the future store. Her groundbreaking approach introduced interactive technology mirrors into her flagship. Shoppers touch screens, order champagne, get stock, size and style information all while being influenced by the latest catwalk videos and photos. Clothing is taken to the fitting room where a digital mirror continues the curated shopping journey. Minkoff's customers are three times more likely to buy if they use the fitting room according to Minkoff's stats. Brilliant!

After several months of piloting smart fitting rooms at a single store, a global sports apparel retailer is now installing the technology at 350 of its stores across Eastern Europe. Last year, the retailer began exploring how it could expand the system to provide benefits to in-store customers, while also gaining analytics. During the pilot, the company reports, the system improved sales by making it easier for customers to request a different size of a garment they were trying on, as well as recommending other products to them. So this year, the firm began deploying the technology across 350 stores and factory outlets, within a total of 1,200 fitting rooms. These stores and outlets represent the largest of the retailer's locations.

According to the Alert Tech, the shopper is seven times more likely to purchase if persuaded to try a garment on in the fitting room. The sale is the ultimate prize and this happens, mostly, in the fitting room. Sales data isn't the only insight that matters. Near misses, abandoned items, dwell time, sales associate help all count. This insight helps retailers with the two important questions, 'how' and 'why' the sale was made or not made. The tech is here to provide this data and it should be used.

And the top prize in the battle between online and offline retail? Research finds that merely touching an object results in an increase in perceived ownership of that object. The eBay effect is a testament to the fact that touching an object increases its value. The online world cant competes with this. For non-owners or buyers, perceived ownership can be increased with either mere touch.

In a world where bricks-and-mortar retail is working harder than ever to justify its existence, we need to science the s*** out of every element of the store. The fitting room is my first target!

About Swarm

Smashing through physical and digital barriers to create frictionless customer experiences. We combine smart design, clever tech and a dose of psychology to create experiences people love, talk about and share.

Ray Harris

Interactive Director

An expert in innovation and technical design, Ray focuses on creating seamless interfaces with technology drawing on a deep knowledge from film, TV and visitor attractions. He now creates 21st century solutions for retail and brands.

Contact:+44 7973 139 370ray.harris@swarm.group

Tim Manning

Experience Director

Service Design and customer engagement specialist. Tim's puts the human psychology element front and centre in his designs. The results are world class: events, interactive experiences and campaigns for the blue chip brands.